Automatic painting, wiping, and polishing machine



. March 17, 1959 R. B. WAY ETAL 2,878,139

AUTOMATIC PAINTING, WIRING, AND POLISHING MACHINE Filed Oct. 10, 1956 5Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS ROBERT E WAY CARL D. HERSEY March 17, 1959 B,WAY ET AL 2,878,139

AUTOMATIC PAINTING, WIPING, AND POLISHING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledOct. 10, 1956 INVEN ORS RMJW FIG- 4 R. B. WAY ET AL March 17, 1959AUTOMATIC PAINTING, WIPING, AND POLISHING MACHINE Filed Odt. 10, 1956 5Sheets-Sheet 3 E XHMJST FIG."

FIG. 5

FIG; 1

INVENTORS ROBERT 6. WAY

CARL D. HE RS E Y CMbZizWM/LJ March 17, 1959 R. B. WAY ET AL 2,878,139

AUTOMATIC PAINTING', WIPING, AND POLISHING MACHINE Filed Oct. 10, 1956'5 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN V EN TOR-S ROBERT B. WAY y CARL D. HERSEY WzW March17, 1959 R. 5. WAY ETAL 2,878,139

AUTOMATIC PAINTING, WIPING, AND POLISHING MACHINE Filed Oct. 10, 1956 5Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG.

INVENTORS ROBERT B WAY BY CARL D HERSEY O MM United States AUTOMATICPAINTING, WIPING, AND PGLISHING MACHINE Robert B. Way and (Iarl D.Hersey, Erie Pa.

Application October 10, 1956, Serial No. 615,093

18 Claims. (Cl. 117-44) atmosphere and because a thin consistency ofpaint must be used for spraying and a stencil or spray mask must be usedto protect the part not to be coated. Further, such spraying results inan uneconomical use of paint since a majority of the sprayed paint goesinto the adherent atmosphere. possible to wipe and polish partly driedpaint on an article. The paint will smear when partly dry and will notwipe clean.

It has been discovered that by utilizing a paint applying means in theform of a paint gun having a special nozzle therein made of a resilientmaterial and of proper design and controlled in a proper manner so thata metered amount of paint is dispensed by the nozzle for eachapplication of paint, it is possible to spread the paint on articles ofmanufacture and, after a drying period, to wipe the excess paint fromthe article and, subsequently, after an additional drying period, topolish the thin residual film of paint from the article. It has alsobeen discovered that if paint is supplied to the paint gun disclosedherein when it is moving in one direction, the gun will apply the paintto the article. Then if the nozzle of the gun is moved back over thepaint applied, the paint will be spread in a uniform layer. No stencilormask is used with the process herein disclosed.

Disclosed herein is a machine which accomplishes the above purposes and,further, accomplishes these purposes automatically; that is, theoperator may load the articles being finished in suitable designedfixtures and the paint will be applied and spread on the article at onestation and wiped at a subsequent station and subsequently polished atstill another station.

It is, accordingly, an object of this invention to provide a machinewhich accomplishes the above results and it is a further object of thisinvention to provide a machine which is simple in construction,economical to manufacture, and simple and efficient in operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a specific method ofapplying paint to articles of manufacture.

'A further object of the invention is to provide a machine which willapply paint 'at one stage, wipe the paint at another stage, and polishthe painted article at still another stage.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved paintgun.

.A still further object of this invent-ion is to provide a machine whichwill apply paint to an article at one stage Furthermore, it is generallyim- "atent O F 2,878,139 Patented Mar. 17, 1959 and provide a dryingtime following the painting followed by a stage at which excess paint iswiped from the article and, subsequently, a stage for polishing thearticle.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consistsof the combination and arrangementzof parts hereinafter more fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and moreparticularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understoodthat changes may be made in the form, size, proportions, and minordetails of construction without departing from the spirit or sacrificingany of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an isometric" view of a painting machine ac cording to theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a piping diagram of the operating circuit of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of a paint gun according to theinvention;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the paint gun shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of a timer valve according to the invention;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of a cloth index valve which is similar tothe gun actuating valve of the machine;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of a pilot control valve according to theinvention;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of an article oscillating arrangement andarticle support with the hold-down pistons and poppet valves accordingto the invention;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of the gun actuatingv arrangement;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged view of the Geneva drive; and

Figs. 11 and 12 are enlarged views of the valves according to theinvention.

In this application, the'word paint is used interchangeably with thegeneric term coating and is meant to cover all similar coatingmaterials. Also, cloth as used is intended to cover all similar fabricand sheet materials.

General description of the machine Now with more specific reference tothe drawings, an automatic painting machine 10 is shown having a frame11 with a cover 12 thereon. A painting station 13 and a wiping station14 with a polishing station 15 are provided. The painting station 13 hasa paint gun 16 of special design which will later be described. Thepaint gun 16 is enclosed in a cover 17 with an access door 18a hingedlyconnected thereto. The paint gun 16 has an actuating air hose 18attached thereto and a paint supply hose 19. The paint gun 16 itself issupported on brackets 20 which are fixedly connected to supports 21, thesupports 21 being swingably connected to the fixed frame 11 at 22. Anair cylinder 23 shown in the schematic diagram in Fig. 2 is fixed to theframe 11 and has. its piston rod 24 connected to the bracket 20 to causethe gun 16 to swing around the pivot 22 to bring the nozzle of the gun16 into engagement with the article to be painted.

The wiping and polishing stations 14 and 15, respectively, have back-upmembers 25 and 26, respectively, which are supported on piston rods 28and 27, respectively. The piston rods 27 and 28 are disposed incylinders shown schematically in Fig. 2 and are urged toward thearticles by a regulated air supply in the cylinders. The wiping back-upmembers 25 and polishing back-up members 26 may have rubber towelengaging members 30 and 31 with corrugated towel engaging surfaces whichhave been discovered do a morev desirable job of polishing than smoothmetal towel engaging back-up members. A towel 32 is supported on spools33 and 34 with dexed 'by means of a cylinder 37 having a piston 38.vancethe towel 32 when the piston 38 is reciprocated.

A .table 45 is supported on a central axis 46 which 'is driven by asuitable Geneva drive 47 having a one revolution clutch 48 whichisactuated when a pin 49 is pulled by a piston rod 50 which is in turnactuated by air supplied to a cylinder ,51. Theoperation of the circuitwill be described hereinafter.

Table and article supportstFig. 1)

table 45 has six spaced article supportstations 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, and57 radially movable thereon.

.Eacharticle support station has an article receiving cavity shaped as acounterpart of the particular article being finished. Each articlesupport is carried by one of the carrier plates 60 which have ways onthe bottom thereof and are slidable one base 61 and may 'be freelyslidable inwardly and outwardly when not opposed by an opposing force.

Six spaced, horizontally disposed cylinders 64 are fixed 'tothe table 45and have pistons 65 operable therein.

the articles supported in the article supports canbemaintained-constantly and ,at .a. predetermined pressure at all times.This makes more aecu ra t e control thereof. Operating cylinders 71, 72,and 73 oscillate the article supports as they are indexed to the wipingstation, the polishing station, and the painting station, respectively;that is, the cylinders 71, 72, and 73 have pistons operable thereinattached to piston rods 74, 75, and 76, respectively. The inner ends ofeach piston rod engage the outer edge of one of the article carriers asit is indexed to reposition adjacent the piston rod and the piston rodforces the article carrier in toward the center of the table 45. againstthe force of the air in the cylinder 64. Therefore, when air is appliedthrough the pipe 68, the article carriers are all held in the outermostposition. As the table 45 indexes, the article carrier comes to thepainting, wiping, and polishing stations, respectively. When eacharticle carrier reaches one of these stations, it is pushed inwardly; inthe case of the painting station, under the gun, and in the case of thewiping and polishing stations, under the towel 32. e

The article support plates 60 as aforesaid are held out in the outwardposition by the pistons 65 in the cylinders 64 which are connected tothe main air supply 70 through the regulator 41:: which applies aconstant pressure to the pistons 65. This pressure can be preset byadjusting a regulator member 120 on. the regulator 41a. By using the aircylinders 64 to hold the article supports in the outward positioninstead of using springs, a much longer stroke of the piston is possiblefor a given length of cylinder because a spring can only be deflected apercentage of entire length whereas the air in air cylinders can becaused to move almost throughout their entire length.

The back-up members 25 and 26 are urged downwardly by means of pistonsattached to the piston rods 27 and 28 actuatable in the cylinders 73 and174. The cylinders 73 and 174 receive air through pipes 751 and 761,respectively, which areconnected through valves 73a and 74a toregulators 73c and 74c, respectively. Therefore, when air is applied totimers T and T, it isalso applied to the cylinders 73 and 174 andthebackup members are forced down against the towel 32. The pistonattached to the back-up member holds the towel 32 in firm engagementwith the article in the article support and the pistons attached to therods 74 and 75 force the article supports inwardly and the back-upmember holds the towel 32 in engagement with the article, therebycausing a wiping action as the article support directs the articletherearound.

Since a short time elapses between the time a particular article iswiped at the wiping station 14 and polished at the polishingstation 15,the paint left by the wiping operation dries and becomes chalky. By thetime the article wiped has reached the polishing station 15, the paintthereon is dry and the article can be polished.

Paint or coating gun (Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 9) For use with the machinedisclosed herein, a special paint gun is used. The paint gun is made upof the gun body 16 having a needle valve axially movable therein andactuated by means of a piston 81 which is slidable in a cylinder 82. Thespace between a seal 83 and the piston 81 is connected to an air supply137 and when air is applied through the pipe 137, it pulls the needlevalve 80 out of engagement with its seat 86, thereby allowing paint froma pipe 87 to be forced through a nozzleopening 88 which communicatesthrough a resilient nozzle 89 and applies paint to the article.

The gun 16, as aforesaid, is mounted on the bracket 20 swingable to theframe 11 at 22 and the cylinder 23 piston rod 76, the piston rod 76 willforce the article carrier 60 inwardly. Also, since the nozzle of the gun16 has been forced down into engagement with the article supporttherein, the article will be moved under the gun 16 and the paint fromthe gun 16 will be allowed to flow onto this article as the article isslid forward, un-.

der and in engagement with the nozzle of the gun 16 by the piston rod76.

A pilot piston 147 of a valve is pushed toward the pipe 70 when a timervalve T opens. This admits air behind the piston on the rod 24 andpushes the piston 147 against the force of a spring 23a until theopening through the piston 147 aligns with the pipe 70 and the interiorof the cylinder 23. This aligns the opening through the member 24a ofthe valve 130 with the pipe 70 and allows air at line pressure to flowbehind the piston attached to the rod 24 and thus operate the rod 24 tomove the gun 16 'down into engagement with the article. The gun 16 willthus be held down in engagement with the article while the oscillatingpiston attached to the rod 76 is moving inwardly and outwardly. The gun16 will be held down until the timer valve T closes. This will stop theflow of air through the pipe 92 and the spring 2311 will force thepiston 147 to the right and stop the flow of air through the piston 147.A spring 128 will return the piston rod 24 and lift the paint gun 16.

Detailed operation of cloth index (Figs. 2 and 8) The cloth indexcylinder is shown in Fig. 6. Between cycles of operation, pressure fromthe pipe 70 builds up in chambers 37a and 37b at the ends of the piston24a through small passages 37c and 37d so that each said chamber is atsubstantially equal pressure. Then when the table 45 indexes and a cam23 trips a poppet valve 23g, the pressure in the chamber 37:: will bereleased through a pipe 23j and the chamber 37!; will force the .valvepiston 24:; to the position shown in Fig. 6. This will-align the reducedsize portion of the piston with the pipe 70 and an orifice 142a andallow air from the pipe 70 to drive a piston37f outward, carrying withit the pawl carrying member 40.

The cam 23 holds the valve 23g open only momentarily as it passes thecam 23 upon each movement of the table45 and as soon as the valve 23gcloses, air begins to flow to the passage 37c and pressure begins tobuild up in the chamber 37a. Then when the pawl carrier is brought intoengagement with a poppet valve 4% as it reaches ,the end of its stroke,it will open the valve 401) and allow pressure in the chamber 37b toreduce. The pressurein the chamber 37a, having now built up, will returnthe piston 24a to the dotted line position to align the reduced sizeportion of the cylinder with the pipe 70 and with a pipe 37k. This willcause the piston 37 to be driven back to its original position, carryingwith it the pawl carrier 40 and causing the pawl 41 to rotate theratchet wheel 44. 1

Timer valve components (Fig. 5)

The circuit which operates the machine contains three timer valves T Tand T These valves are identical and one only will be shown by way ofexample in Fig. 5.

A main line of air is connected from the pipe 70 to their respectiveoutlets through normally closed valves which are each operated by apiston 135; that is, when a piston 141 of a drive operated valve 117 ismomentarily moved by a cam 139 on the shaft of the drive unit 47, air iscompressed in the chamber 142a and trapped therein by a check valve 342.The piston 135 of each timer valve is driven downwardly and a valve 142in each timer valve is .held open, thus allowing air to flow from thepipe '70 to an outlet T Immediately, the air begins to bleed out througha needle valve 242 at apredetermined rate determined by the settingthereof. As the air bleeds out, a spring 1421) forces the piston 135 andthe valve member 142 toward a closed position. The time during which airflows from pipe 70 to the outlet T is determined by the 'time the valve142 is held open by the pistons 135. The time the valve 142 is held openis determined by the time required for air trapped in the chamber 142a,after air .has been admitted thereto, to escape through the valve 242and during the time that the air in the chamber 142a -is under pressure,it will exert a pressure on the pistons 135 at the time that thepressure in the chamber 142a diminishes to a pressure of less value thanthat exerted by the spring 1421;. The spring 1421) Will force the valve142 closed. The time for the air to escape the chamber 142a and,therefore, the time of flow of air from the pipe 70 to the outlet T canbe adjusted by means of --the valve 242.

Article oscillating means (Figs. 2 and 8) As mentioned supra, thearticles supported in the supports 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, and 57 are urgedradially outwardly by a constant pressure exerted by the pistons 65 froma regulated air supply through the regulator 41a.

In Fig. 8, a portion of the air circuit for accomplishing this is shownin an enlarged view. The pusher circuits for the painting station, thewiping station, and the polishing station have similar valve pistons106). The wiper station pusher cylinder and associated parts are shownin Fig. 8. The piston rod 75 has a cam arm 75a integrally connectedthereto. The cam arm 75a engages poppet valves 75b and 75c to hold themopen when the cylinder 72 is in the deactuated position. The poppetvalve 750 is connected to the main air supply through pilot valves P andR The pilot valve P is normally closed by its spring .7011 and ,is heldclosed when the timer valve T is =actuated. The pilot valve P is heldclosed by air from the pipe T when the-timer valve T is actuated.

Machine index ordeoforthe machine to index,.-air must flow from ;apipe-106; the pilot valve 1 poppet valve 75c,-n1embers poppet valves75c, 74c, and'76c are held open byth'e cam arms 75a, 74a, and 76a,respectively, and the painting timer T must be timed out so that thepressure :will be relieved on the pistons actuating the pilot valve P sothat the pilot valve P will be opened. Then'it will appear that acomplete circuit will be open :from thepipe to the piston in thecylinder 51. v

3) If anyof the cam arms. corresponding to :the cam arm 76a are olf oftheir respective poppet valves, the machine cannot index.

(4) The painting, wiping, and polishing cycles :must have beenthoroughly completed in order for the machine to index as appears supra.

The poppet valve is connected to the timer T through the pipe T Anotherpoppet valve 75d is connected to the main air supply 70 and to the otherside of the cylinder housingthe piston through a pipe 72a. Therefore,when the table 45 indexes and the cam 139 on the main machine tabledrive shaft actuates the pilot piston 141 to charge the timer Tthe'valve .142 will open and air will flow through the pipe T Inaddition, since the cam arm 76:: is resting on and holding the poppetvalve 75b open, air will flow through the'valve 75b and drive the pistonwit-to the left, thus allowing air to flow from the pipe 7% against anend 100!) of the piston 100, driving thepiston 100 from thepositionshownin Fig. 8 and aligning the piston 100 with the pipe 70 and "an orificeHide. The piston 72a will drive the piston rod 75 toward the articlecarrier 60, forcing the article carrier 60 radially toward the center ofthe table-15 against the force of air in the cylinder 64 on the piston65.

As the piston 72a moves its cam arm 76ainwardly, its cam 75:: finallystrikes an actuating member 7511 on the poppet valve 75d. This will openthe valve 75d and air will fiow from the pipe 70 through apipe 72k tothe space on the left side of the piston100. The piston 100 will bedriven to the position shown in Fig. 8 and air will be shut oil from thepipe 70 through the piston 100 to the cylinder 72 and air from thecylinder 72 will be exhausted through a pipe We and a valve 72] at apredetermined rate. ,This will allow the air in the cylinder 64 to forcethe article carrier 60 and the piston rod 75 radially outwardly, therebymoving the piston 72a to the position shown in Fig.8. The rate at whichthe piston'72o will be moved outwardly will be controlled by the settingof the throttling valve 72 As soon as the piston 72a has returned to theposition shown in Fig. 8, the article supported on the article carrier'60 will have made one complete inward and outward oscillation or cycleof movement in contact with the bight portion 35 of the towel 32. Thenif the valve 142 of the timer valve T is still open when the piston 72ohas returned to the position shown in Fig; 8 and the cam arm 76a is inengagement with the poppet valve 75b, air will again flow throughthepipe T and the valve 75b into a space 100 driving the piston 100 tothe left and allowing air to fiow from the pipe 70 through the reducedsize portion of the piston to the space behind the piston 72a. Thepiston will again move the article support radially in and it will againbe pushed out by the piston rod'75 "as previously described. It willcontinue to repeat these in and out reciprocations until the valve 142of the timer valve T has closed; that is, until all the air from behindthe piston has bled out through a throttle valve 143. The time for theair to bleed out will be determined by the setting of the throttle valve143. Therefore, the number "=0f strokes of the wiping cylinder-and,likewise, 'thenurn her of strokes of the polishing cylinder can becontrolled by adjusting the throttle valve 143 to make one stroke fortwo or more strokes.

The operation of paint cylinder 173 is similar to that of the wiping andpolishing cylinders described; however, the timing of the paint cylinder173 is controlled by the timer valve T Back-up clamping member when thetimer 'I is charged by the table 45 indexing asdescribed above, air issent through the pipe '1 into a valve 174a and pressure below a piston174b forces the piston 17% up against the-force of a spring 174d toalign the opening thereto with the pipe 761 and allows air to --flowfrom the pipe 70 through a regulator 17 4c to a piston 174, forcing thepiston rod 28' down and bringing the 'member 30 into engagement with thebight portion of -the towel 32 and'urgingit into engagement with thearticle supported thereunder. The valve 174a will stay open as long asthe orifice 14a of the timer valve T is charged and when the timer valveT closes, the spring 174d will close the valve 174a, thereby stoppingthe flow of air to the piston 174 and allowing the piston to move out ofengagement with the article.

Timer valves The timer valves accomplish the following:

T (1) Controls the time that the wiping and .polishing back-up membersare engaged with the towel. '(2) Controls the number of strokes ofwiping and polishing the-article oscillating piston. 1(3) .Determinesthe time in which. the towel indexes. fj controls the amount of paintdeposited on an article. T (1) Prevents the table from indexing untilthe paint cycle is complete. p

(2) Determines the number of oscillations of the paint cylinder.Operation of the machine The operator will preferably stand in front ofthe machine shown in Fig. 1 and load parts on the article support 57 andremove articles from the article support 56 after they have been carriedpast the painting station, 'wiping station, and polishing station andhave been painted, wiped, and polished. A source of compressed air willbe connected to the pipe 70. When the operator has placed an article onan article support 59 of the station '57, he will step on the footswitch F to allow air to flow through the pilot valve P Since thewiping, painting, and polishing stations will all be in their retractedpositions with their cam arms holding the poppet valves 75c, 74c, and76c, air will flow through the poppet valves 75c, 74c, and 76:: andthrough the pilot control valves P 'and P to the cylinder 51 and thepiston thereon will be actuated. I

As the table indexes, its shaft will rotate with it, rotating the cam139 thereon. The cam 139 will momentarily engage a poppet valve 70awhich will reduce 'the pressure in the pipe 23 and cause the valveconnected to the cylinder 37 of the towel index mechanism to actuate itin the manner described in connection with the *towel 32 and the paintvalve and, therefore, bring a fresh piece of cloth into operativeposition over the painting and wiping stations. As the table d5 drivenby the shaft with the cam 139 thereon continues to rotate and the cam139 moves on around, a cam 140 of the valve 142 will be engaged and apiston 141a will move to line up its opening through piston 117 with apipe 170 and pipe 134.

This will charge the timer valves T T and T Air 1 from the timer valve Twill: a. Clost pilot valve P b. Move the pilot piston 147 of the valve130 so that -;;air may flow from the pipe 70 to the piston to cause the.valve 13010 be actuated which will,'in turn, cause the 8 paint guncylinder 23 to extend its piston and piston rod 24, bringing the paintgun 16 into engagement with the article which has been moved thereunder;and 1 c. Move the pilot piston of'a paint oscillating cylinder 101 sothat the article will be moved in and out to apply paint thereto.

The setting of the needle valve on the timer T will determine how manystrokes the piston rod 76 makes. Air from the timer valve T will openthe valve in the gun 16 and cause it to apply a predetermined amount ofpaint to the nozzzle 89 which will, in turn, apply it to the article.

The timer valve T will allow air to flow through the pipe T which willmove the pilot piston on the valves 73a and 17411 to their openpositionand air from regulators 172a and 730 will cause the hold-downcylinders 73 and 174 to clamp the articles. The pilot valve P will closeso that the table 45 cannot be indexed againuntil the timer valve T hastimed out. This will prevent indexing until the painting, wiping, andpolishing cycle is complete. In addition, the cylinder 72 will push thearticle on the support toward the table center and since the articlesupported on the carrier is urged radially outwardly, the piston rodwill oscillate the article in and out. The same will occur at thepolishing station 15.

As soon as the articles have moved to their extreme inward radialpositions by the oscillating cylinder 71 at reverse the pistons on theoscillating valve control cylinders and cause the part oscillatingpistons to move outwardly, urged by the article positioning pistons 65.The poppet valves, being all three way valves, will exhaust all air inthe line ahead of them as soon as they close. T hen, if the timer valvesT T and '1 still have pressure holding the valve members thereon open atthis time, air pressure will still be provided on the pipes T and 123and the member 137. Also, as soon as the poppet valves 121 and 76b arestruck by the cams carried by the rods of the oscillating pistons, thepart oscillating pistons will again move the articles supported on thearticle carrier 60 inwardly against the force of the piston 65. If thetimers have closed by this time, no air pressure will be present on thepipes T and 123 and, therefore, the particular operation will not berepeated. When the timer valves T T and T have timed out and the articlesupports have moved to their extreme radial outward positions, the table45 will be ready to again index.

It will be noted that the cloth index takes place when a roller 92a on aclutch 192 strikes the valve 23g. Then, as the clutch 192 continues torotate approximately one hundred eighty degrees, it strikes an actuatingmember a. Therefore, the towel is indexing as the table clutch rotates.If the timer valves T T and T are set for short time intervals, theclutch 192 may rotate continuously since the table 45 will only bedriven during about one half revolution of the clutch 192; that is,while the roller 92a is in engagement with a Geneva wheel 292.

The foregoing specification sets forth the invention in its preferredpractical forms but the structure shown is capable of modificationwithin a range of equivalents without departing from the invention whichis to be understood is broadly novel as is commensurate with theappended claims.

painting station to 'is'aid wiping station "and "then =;m-- said.ipolis'hing station, means to "apply paint to articles sup ported onsaid article supporting members atsaid .paint ing station, means to wipeexcess paint applied at said I painting station from said articles,means to polish said articles at said polishing station, said machinehaving means to cause said article supporting members todwell betweensaid painting station and :said wiping station whereby paint thereondries slightly beforereaching said wipingstation, said machine havingmeans -to causesaid article supportingmembers to dwell between saidwiping station and said polishing station whereby said paint residueleft by said wiping means on articles supported 'on said articlesupportingmembers further dries before being'polished by saidpolishingstation.

2. The machine recited in claim 1 wherein 'said means to apply paint tosaid articles comprises-apaint gun supported on said frame at's'aidpaint station.

3. A painting machine for decorating articles of manufacture comprisinga table, means to intermittently rotate said table, said table havingsix spaced article supports carried thereon, a paintingstation-supported at a fixed location on said table, a wiping stationsupported at a location generally diametrically opposite said paintingstation, a polishing station located at a location spaced from saidwiping station, means at said painting station to move a paint'gun'intoengagement with an article adapted to be supported on said articlesupports, means to oscillate said article supports in a generallyhorizontalplane with said articles thereon whereby said articles aremoved relative to said paint gun when in engagement therewith, clothmeans'at said wiping-station and said polishing station, means tooscillate said articles adapted to be-supported on said article supportsat said wiping station and said polishing station, and means to holdsaid cloth means in engagement with said articles at said wiping stationand said polishing station.

4. The machine recited in claim 3 wherein said means to oscillate saidarticle supports comprises air cylinders having pistons thereon havingmeans engaging said article supports urging said article supportsradially outwardly, and a regulated air supply providing air pressure tosaid cylinders.

5. The machine recited in claim 4 wherein an air cylinder having apiston is fixed to said table above said painting station and saidwiping station, back-up members are attached to said piston, and airmeans provides compressed air between said cylinder and said piston tourge said back-up members into engagement with said cloth means, saidair in said cylinder being supplied thereto by means of a regulated airsupply.

6. A painting machine for decorating articles of manufacture comprisinga table, indexing means provided for moving said table intermittently,article supports radially slidable on said table, each said articlesupport having the piston rod of a piston engaging said article support,said pistons each being disposed in a cylinder disposed radially on saidtable in a plane, and a painting station, a wiping station, and apolishing station disposed at spaced locations around said table, eachof said painting, wiping, and polishing stations having an articleoscillating cylinder having a piston rod in general alignment with saidpiston rod of said article support engaging piston and in the same planetherewith, said article oscillating cylinders at said painting, wiping,and polishing stations being selectively attached to a supply ofcompressed air whereby said pistons push articles on said articlesupports in against the force of said pistons on said table whereby saidarticles supported on said article supports are oscillated.

7. The machine recited in claim 6 wherein said painting station has apaint gun having a nozzle made of resilient material thereon, means tomove said gun down to bring said nozzle into engagement with saidarticles adapted to be supported in said article supports when each saidarticle support is moved into said painting station, and'tneansto holdsaid nozzle in en'gagerne'nt-there with while said articles are beingoscillated bysaid pistons 'wherehy :paint from said nozzle isdeposited-on each said article in turn on the outward stroke of saidarticle support and said paint is spread on the inward strol e thereof.

8. The machine recited'in claim 7 wherein a clamping cylinder having apiston therein is supported on said machine above said wiping stationand anotherpiston-is supported above said polishing station, the pistonsbeing disposed in a plane perpendicular to the plane of said table andsaid oscillating cylinders and adapted to move down into engagement witha cloth to hold said cloth in engagement with said articles whiletheyare being oscillated by said oscillating cylinders, andaregulatedzair supply is connected to said clamping cylinder.

9. A painting machine comprising a rotatable .tabl'e having a pluralityof spaced article support urging cylinders supported thereon andextending radially from the center thereof, article supports 'slidablysupported on said table, said article support cylinders each having apiston rod engaging said article supports, a regulated air supplyconnected to said article urging cylinders whereby said article supportsare urged outwardly at aconstant force, means to move said articlesupports under a paint station, and means to oscillate'said articlesupports while articles thereon are inengagernent with a paint gun.

10. A painting machine comprising a painting station, a wiping station,and a polishing station disposed at spaced points around said machine, atable on said ,ma-

chine Withspaced article supports thereon, said painting vstation havinga paint gun supported on a swingable arm on said machine and adapted toswing down into engagement with an article supported in one said articlesupport, means to index said article support to a position under saidpainting station, a towel having a bight portion supportedabove'saidwipingstation-and-said polishing station, a back-up membersupported above said wiping station and said polishing station, saidback-up member having a piston connected thereto disposed in a cylinderthereon connected to a regulated air supply, said backup member beingadapted to be forced down by said regulated air supply into engagementwith said towel whereby said towel engages said article in said articlesupport, a cylinder having a piston therein with a piston rod disposedradially to said table, one said piston being disposed at each saidpainting, wiping, and polishing station, said piston rod on said pistonbeing adapted to engage one of said article supports disposed under aparticular station whereby said article support is oscillated inwardlyagainst the force of said regulated air supply and moved outwardly bysaid pistons in said cylinders connected to said air supply, and timermeans for controlling the amount of paint supplied to said paint an by apaint supply.

11. The painting machine recited in claim 10 wherein said oscillatingpistons for said wiping station and for said polishing station aresupplied air by means of a timing valve, said timing valve being adaptedto be preset to supply air to said oscillating pistons over apredetermined time interval to provide a predetermined number ofoscillations with each said article in engagement with said towel.

12. The painting machine recited in claim 11 wherein said table isconnected to an index mechanism and an air supply is provided for saidindex mechanism, said index mechanism moving said table intermittentlyto bring said article supports to said stations, said air supply flowingthrough'poppet valves connected in series one each at said painting,wiping, and polishing stations, said valves being held open when saidoscillating pistons are in their unactuated position, said air supplybeing further controlled through said timing valve in series with saidpoppet valves, said valves preventing said table from indexing untilsaid -oscillating pistons are at rest and the preset time of said .timervalve has expired.

13. A painting machine comprising a table rotatable -in a horizontalplane, article supports supported on said .table and spaced around theperiphery thereof, radially disposed first cylinders attached to saidtable and having pistons movable in a plane parallel to said table andurging said article supports to slide outwardly to an ex- ;treme outwardposition, a wiping station and a polishing station on said machine,wiping means disposed above said article supports, said wiping meanscomprising two spaced spools rotatably supported on axles disposed in :aplane parallel to the plane of said table and having a continuous pieceof cloth wrapped thereon and extending therebetween, back-up memberssupported above said cloth and having cylinders attached to said tablewith pistons thereon attached to back-up means engaging said cloth andmoving said cloth down into engagement with articles supported on saidarticle supports, and a part oscillating cylinder disposed in a paintingstation and in said wiping station, said oscillating cylinder having apis- 'ton engaging said article supports and urging said articlesupports intermittently inwardly against the force of said pistonssupported on said table.

14. A process of applying coating comprisingproviding an article to becoated, moving a device having a resilient nozzle thereon relative tosaid article and into engagement withsaid article, supplying apredetermined amountof coating to said nozzle, moving said nozzle andsaid device relative to said article in a first direction, applyingsaidcoating to the engaged surface of said article, and moving saiddevice back over said engaged surface of said article in aseconddirection with said nozzle in engagement therewith whereby said coatingis spread.

15. The process recited in claim 14 wherein means is provided to bring apart of the coated surface of said article into engagement with a pieceof cloth after said coating is applied to'said article and means isprovided to slide said article into engagement with said cloth relativethereto whereby the excess coating applied is removed.

16. The process recited in claim 15 wherein said article is allowed todry a predetermined time after said coating is applied before saidexcess coating is removed.

17. The process recited in claim 16 wherein said article is brought intoengagement with another material surface aftcr a predetermined timefollowing its engagement with said cloth and moved relative to saidcloth in engagement therewith whereby residual coating is polished .fromsaid article.

18. A process of painting and polishing articles of manufacturecomprising depositing a predetermined amount of paint on an article,allowing said article to dry a predetermined time, bringing said articleinto engagement with astrip of polishing material, moving said articleinto engagementwith said material whereby excess paint is removed fromsaid article, allowing said article to drya predetermined time wherebysaid residual paint not removed by wiping is allowed to dry, bringingsaid article into engagement with another said material, and moving saidarticle relative thereto whereby said residual paint is removed fromsaid article and said article is polished.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

18. A PROCESS OF PAINTING AND POLISHING ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURECOMPRISING DEPOSITING A PREDETERMINED AMOUNT OF PAINT ON AN ARTICLE,ALLOWING SAID ARTICLE TO DRY A PREDETERMINED TIME, BRINGING SAID ARTICLEINTO ENGAGEMENT WITH A STRIP OF POLISHING MATERIAL, MOVING SAID ARTICLEINTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID MATERIAL WHEREBY EXCESS PAINT IS REMOVED FROMSAID ARTICLE, ALLOWING SAID ARTICLE TO DRY A PREDETERMINED TIME WHEREBYSAID RESIDUAL PAINT NOT REMOVED BY WIPING IS ALLOWED TO DRY, BRINGINGSAID ARTICLE INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH ANOTHER SAID MATERIAL, AND MOVINGARTICLE RELATIVE THERETO WHEREBY SAID